Mr. McRae asks about the allocation of $65 million for school maintenance, specifically how much will be spent this financial year. Mr. Carpenter answers that $15 million will be spent and criticizes the Liberal Party's proposed $20 million allocation as insufficient.

AnsweredQoN 564Legislative Assembly
Asked
16 September 2004
Portfolio
Education and Training

QuestionView source ↗

Mr Speaker - Several members interjected. Mr A.D. McRAE: It is because he is a popular man! I refer the minister to the school maintenance announcement that he and the Premier made at Willetton Senior High School in August of this year; namely, that the Government has allocated an extra $65 million over the next four years to the maintenance program in schools. Will the minister please advise the House how much of that money will be spent between now and the end of this financial year? Mr A.J. CARPENTER

AnswerView source ↗

I thank the member for Riverton for the question. I repeat what I said before: ask me a question and I will give an honest answer. If that means some embarrassment to me, so be it. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER: Tell the truth, Colin! A new phrase in the political lexicon! Because of good budgeting the Government announced that it will be able to provide additional funds of $65 million for school maintenance over four years over and above that budgeted for in the forward estimates. Coincidentally, approximately a week prior to that, the Opposition announced that it will be allocating an additional $20 million for school maintenance over four years. It is quite interesting to see what has happened since then. There is now a rash of political candidates for the Liberal Party sending out letters and issuing statements asking people for submissions on how they can spend the $20 million over the next four years to alleviate school maintenance problems. They are not saying that the Government will contribute more than three times that amount. For those Liberal Party candidates the question should arise: which two out of three schools is the Liberal Party not going to do anything about? The Liberal Party is addressing only one-third of the problem. What about the other two-thirds of the problem? In this current financial year the additional money over and above that already budgeted for will be $15 million, which the Government announced at the time. The Liberal Party candidate for Riverton, Margaret Thomas, has written to her constituents. She states, in part - I am writing to inform you that the Liberal Party has allocated $20 million to spend on urgently needed maintenance in Western Australia’s State schools and it is important that schools in the Riverton electorate get their share. I want to ensure that things which are falling into disrepair are fixed properly the first time and also help stop problems occurring and ensure schools receive ongoing work to prevent them becoming rundown. I would like to attend your next P & C meeting to meet you and talk to you about what maintenance we can help with and discuss any other problems you have. I have a question for Margaret. Bearing in mind that the identified backlog is $65 million and that the Liberal Opposition is committing itself to spend only $20 million out of the required $65 million, will Margaret put the proposition to people: which two-thirds of the schools in the area will they not do anything for? I have a little suggestion for Margaret. It is a bit like my other general suggestion: tell the truth, Margaret. When she is making these sorts of statements as a candidate she should tell the truth. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Mr A.J. CARPENTER: The truth, which obviously upsets the Liberal Party Opposition, is that the amount of money it is allocating will address only one-third of the problem whereas our amount will resolve it. The amount over four years is less than the additional money that the Government committed in the first three years. Tell the truth, Margaret.
Several members interjected. Mr A.D. McRAE: It is because he is a popular man! I refer the minister to the school maintenance announcement that he and the Premier made at Willetton Senior High School in August of this year; namely, that the Government has allocated an extra $65 million over the next four years to the maintenance program in schools. Will the minister please advise the House how much of that money will be spent between now and the end of this financial year? Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: I thank the member for Riverton for the question. I repeat what I said before: ask me a question and I will give an honest answer. If that means some embarrassment to me, so be it. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER: Tell the truth, Colin! A new phrase in the political lexicon! Because of good budgeting the Government announced that it will be able to provide additional funds of $65 million for school maintenance over four years over and above that budgeted for in the forward estimates. Coincidentally, approximately a week prior to that, the Opposition announced that it will be allocating an additional $20 million for school maintenance over four years. It is quite interesting to see what has happened since then. There is now a rash of political candidates for the Liberal Party sending out letters and issuing statements asking people for submissions on how they can spend the $20 million over the next four years to alleviate school maintenance problems. They are not saying that the Government will contribute more than three times that amount. For those Liberal Party candidates the question should arise: which two out of three schools is the Liberal Party not going to do anything about? The Liberal Party is addressing only one-third of the problem. What about the other two-thirds of the problem? In this current financial year the additional money over and above that already budgeted for will be $15 million, which the Government announced at the time. The Liberal Party candidate for Riverton, Margaret Thomas, has written to her constituents. She states, in part - I am writing to inform you that the Liberal Party has allocated $20 million to spend on urgently needed maintenance in Western Australia’s State schools and it is important that schools in the Riverton electorate get their share. I want to ensure that things which are falling into disrepair are fixed properly the first time and also help stop problems occurring and ensure schools receive ongoing work to prevent them becoming rundown. I would like to attend your next P & C meeting to meet you and talk to you about what maintenance we can help with and discuss any other problems you have. I have a question for Margaret. Bearing in mind that the identified backlog is $65 million and that the Liberal Opposition is committing itself to spend only $20 million out of the required $65 million, will Margaret put the proposition to people: which two-thirds of the schools in the area will they not do anything for? I have a little suggestion for Margaret. It is a bit like my other general suggestion: tell the truth, Margaret. When she is making these sorts of statements as a candidate she should tell the truth. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Mr A.J. CARPENTER: The truth, which obviously upsets the Liberal Party Opposition, is that the amount of money it is allocating will address only one-third of the problem whereas our amount will resolve it. The amount over four years is less than the additional money that the Government committed in the first three years. Tell the truth, Margaret.
Mr A.D. McRAE: It is because he is a popular man! I refer the minister to the school maintenance announcement that he and the Premier made at Willetton Senior High School in August of this year; namely, that the Government has allocated an extra $65 million over the next four years to the maintenance program in schools. Will the minister please advise the House how much of that money will be spent between now and the end of this financial year? Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: I thank the member for Riverton for the question. I repeat what I said before: ask me a question and I will give an honest answer. If that means some embarrassment to me, so be it. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER: Tell the truth, Colin! A new phrase in the political lexicon! Because of good budgeting the Government announced that it will be able to provide additional funds of $65 million for school maintenance over four years over and above that budgeted for in the forward estimates. Coincidentally, approximately a week prior to that, the Opposition announced that it will be allocating an additional $20 million for school maintenance over four years. It is quite interesting to see what has happened since then. There is now a rash of political candidates for the Liberal Party sending out letters and issuing statements asking people for submissions on how they can spend the $20 million over the next four years to alleviate school maintenance problems. They are not saying that the Government will contribute more than three times that amount. For those Liberal Party candidates the question should arise: which two out of three schools is the Liberal Party not going to do anything about? The Liberal Party is addressing only one-third of the problem. What about the other two-thirds of the problem? In this current financial year the additional money over and above that already budgeted for will be $15 million, which the Government announced at the time. The Liberal Party candidate for Riverton, Margaret Thomas, has written to her constituents. She states, in part - I am writing to inform you that the Liberal Party has allocated $20 million to spend on urgently needed maintenance in Western Australia’s State schools and it is important that schools in the Riverton electorate get their share. I want to ensure that things which are falling into disrepair are fixed properly the first time and also help stop problems occurring and ensure schools receive ongoing work to prevent them becoming rundown. I would like to attend your next P & C meeting to meet you and talk to you about what maintenance we can help with and discuss any other problems you have. I have a question for Margaret. Bearing in mind that the identified backlog is $65 million and that the Liberal Opposition is committing itself to spend only $20 million out of the required $65 million, will Margaret put the proposition to people: which two-thirds of the schools in the area will they not do anything for? I have a little suggestion for Margaret. It is a bit like my other general suggestion: tell the truth, Margaret. When she is making these sorts of statements as a candidate she should tell the truth. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Mr A.J. CARPENTER: The truth, which obviously upsets the Liberal Party Opposition, is that the amount of money it is allocating will address only one-third of the problem whereas our amount will resolve it. The amount over four years is less than the additional money that the Government committed in the first three years. Tell the truth, Margaret.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER replied: I thank the member for Riverton for the question. I repeat what I said before: ask me a question and I will give an honest answer. If that means some embarrassment to me, so be it. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER: Tell the truth, Colin! A new phrase in the political lexicon! Because of good budgeting the Government announced that it will be able to provide additional funds of $65 million for school maintenance over four years over and above that budgeted for in the forward estimates. Coincidentally, approximately a week prior to that, the Opposition announced that it will be allocating an additional $20 million for school maintenance over four years. It is quite interesting to see what has happened since then. There is now a rash of political candidates for the Liberal Party sending out letters and issuing statements asking people for submissions on how they can spend the $20 million over the next four years to alleviate school maintenance problems. They are not saying that the Government will contribute more than three times that amount. For those Liberal Party candidates the question should arise: which two out of three schools is the Liberal Party not going to do anything about? The Liberal Party is addressing only one-third of the problem. What about the other two-thirds of the problem? In this current financial year the additional money over and above that already budgeted for will be $15 million, which the Government announced at the time. The Liberal Party candidate for Riverton, Margaret Thomas, has written to her constituents. She states, in part - I am writing to inform you that the Liberal Party has allocated $20 million to spend on urgently needed maintenance in Western Australia’s State schools and it is important that schools in the Riverton electorate get their share. I want to ensure that things which are falling into disrepair are fixed properly the first time and also help stop problems occurring and ensure schools receive ongoing work to prevent them becoming rundown. I would like to attend your next P & C meeting to meet you and talk to you about what maintenance we can help with and discuss any other problems you have. I have a question for Margaret. Bearing in mind that the identified backlog is $65 million and that the Liberal Opposition is committing itself to spend only $20 million out of the required $65 million, will Margaret put the proposition to people: which two-thirds of the schools in the area will they not do anything for? I have a little suggestion for Margaret. It is a bit like my other general suggestion: tell the truth, Margaret. When she is making these sorts of statements as a candidate she should tell the truth. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Mr A.J. CARPENTER: The truth, which obviously upsets the Liberal Party Opposition, is that the amount of money it is allocating will address only one-third of the problem whereas our amount will resolve it. The amount over four years is less than the additional money that the Government committed in the first three years. Tell the truth, Margaret.
I thank the member for Riverton for the question. I repeat what I said before: ask me a question and I will give an honest answer. If that means some embarrassment to me, so be it. Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER: Tell the truth, Colin! A new phrase in the political lexicon! Because of good budgeting the Government announced that it will be able to provide additional funds of $65 million for school maintenance over four years over and above that budgeted for in the forward estimates. Coincidentally, approximately a week prior to that, the Opposition announced that it will be allocating an additional $20 million for school maintenance over four years. It is quite interesting to see what has happened since then. There is now a rash of political candidates for the Liberal Party sending out letters and issuing statements asking people for submissions on how they can spend the $20 million over the next four years to alleviate school maintenance problems. They are not saying that the Government will contribute more than three times that amount. For those Liberal Party candidates the question should arise: which two out of three schools is the Liberal Party not going to do anything about? The Liberal Party is addressing only one-third of the problem. What about the other two-thirds of the problem? In this current financial year the additional money over and above that already budgeted for will be $15 million, which the Government announced at the time. The Liberal Party candidate for Riverton, Margaret Thomas, has written to her constituents. She states, in part - I am writing to inform you that the Liberal Party has allocated $20 million to spend on urgently needed maintenance in Western Australia’s State schools and it is important that schools in the Riverton electorate get their share. I want to ensure that things which are falling into disrepair are fixed properly the first time and also help stop problems occurring and ensure schools receive ongoing work to prevent them becoming rundown. I would like to attend your next P & C meeting to meet you and talk to you about what maintenance we can help with and discuss any other problems you have. I have a question for Margaret. Bearing in mind that the identified backlog is $65 million and that the Liberal Opposition is committing itself to spend only $20 million out of the required $65 million, will Margaret put the proposition to people: which two-thirds of the schools in the area will they not do anything for? I have a little suggestion for Margaret. It is a bit like my other general suggestion: tell the truth, Margaret. When she is making these sorts of statements as a candidate she should tell the truth. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Mr A.J. CARPENTER: The truth, which obviously upsets the Liberal Party Opposition, is that the amount of money it is allocating will address only one-third of the problem whereas our amount will resolve it. The amount over four years is less than the additional money that the Government committed in the first three years. Tell the truth, Margaret.
Mr C.J. Barnett interjected. Mr A.J. CARPENTER: Tell the truth, Colin! A new phrase in the political lexicon! Because of good budgeting the Government announced that it will be able to provide additional funds of $65 million for school maintenance over four years over and above that budgeted for in the forward estimates. Coincidentally, approximately a week prior to that, the Opposition announced that it will be allocating an additional $20 million for school maintenance over four years. It is quite interesting to see what has happened since then. There is now a rash of political candidates for the Liberal Party sending out letters and issuing statements asking people for submissions on how they can spend the $20 million over the next four years to alleviate school maintenance problems. They are not saying that the Government will contribute more than three times that amount. For those Liberal Party candidates the question should arise: which two out of three schools is the Liberal Party not going to do anything about? The Liberal Party is addressing only one-third of the problem. What about the other two-thirds of the problem? In this current financial year the additional money over and above that already budgeted for will be $15 million, which the Government announced at the time. The Liberal Party candidate for Riverton, Margaret Thomas, has written to her constituents. She states, in part - I am writing to inform you that the Liberal Party has allocated $20 million to spend on urgently needed maintenance in Western Australia’s State schools and it is important that schools in the Riverton electorate get their share. I want to ensure that things which are falling into disrepair are fixed properly the first time and also help stop problems occurring and ensure schools receive ongoing work to prevent them becoming rundown. I would like to attend your next P & C meeting to meet you and talk to you about what maintenance we can help with and discuss any other problems you have. I have a question for Margaret. Bearing in mind that the identified backlog is $65 million and that the Liberal Opposition is committing itself to spend only $20 million out of the required $65 million, will Margaret put the proposition to people: which two-thirds of the schools in the area will they not do anything for? I have a little suggestion for Margaret. It is a bit like my other general suggestion: tell the truth, Margaret. When she is making these sorts of statements as a candidate she should tell the truth. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Mr A.J. CARPENTER: The truth, which obviously upsets the Liberal Party Opposition, is that the amount of money it is allocating will address only one-third of the problem whereas our amount will resolve it. The amount over four years is less than the additional money that the Government committed in the first three years. Tell the truth, Margaret.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER: Tell the truth, Colin! A new phrase in the political lexicon! Because of good budgeting the Government announced that it will be able to provide additional funds of $65 million for school maintenance over four years over and above that budgeted for in the forward estimates. Coincidentally, approximately a week prior to that, the Opposition announced that it will be allocating an additional $20 million for school maintenance over four years. It is quite interesting to see what has happened since then. There is now a rash of political candidates for the Liberal Party sending out letters and issuing statements asking people for submissions on how they can spend the $20 million over the next four years to alleviate school maintenance problems. They are not saying that the Government will contribute more than three times that amount. For those Liberal Party candidates the question should arise: which two out of three schools is the Liberal Party not going to do anything about? The Liberal Party is addressing only one-third of the problem. What about the other two-thirds of the problem? In this current financial year the additional money over and above that already budgeted for will be $15 million, which the Government announced at the time. The Liberal Party candidate for Riverton, Margaret Thomas, has written to her constituents. She states, in part - I am writing to inform you that the Liberal Party has allocated $20 million to spend on urgently needed maintenance in Western Australia’s State schools and it is important that schools in the Riverton electorate get their share. I want to ensure that things which are falling into disrepair are fixed properly the first time and also help stop problems occurring and ensure schools receive ongoing work to prevent them becoming rundown. I would like to attend your next P & C meeting to meet you and talk to you about what maintenance we can help with and discuss any other problems you have. I have a question for Margaret. Bearing in mind that the identified backlog is $65 million and that the Liberal Opposition is committing itself to spend only $20 million out of the required $65 million, will Margaret put the proposition to people: which two-thirds of the schools in the area will they not do anything for? I have a little suggestion for Margaret. It is a bit like my other general suggestion: tell the truth, Margaret. When she is making these sorts of statements as a candidate she should tell the truth. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Mr A.J. CARPENTER: The truth, which obviously upsets the Liberal Party Opposition, is that the amount of money it is allocating will address only one-third of the problem whereas our amount will resolve it. The amount over four years is less than the additional money that the Government committed in the first three years. Tell the truth, Margaret.
Because of good budgeting the Government announced that it will be able to provide additional funds of $65 million for school maintenance over four years over and above that budgeted for in the forward estimates. Coincidentally, approximately a week prior to that, the Opposition announced that it will be allocating an additional $20 million for school maintenance over four years. It is quite interesting to see what has happened since then. There is now a rash of political candidates for the Liberal Party sending out letters and issuing statements asking people for submissions on how they can spend the $20 million over the next four years to alleviate school maintenance problems. They are not saying that the Government will contribute more than three times that amount. For those Liberal Party candidates the question should arise: which two out of three schools is the Liberal Party not going to do anything about? The Liberal Party is addressing only one-third of the problem. What about the other two-thirds of the problem? In this current financial year the additional money over and above that already budgeted for will be $15 million, which the Government announced at the time. The Liberal Party candidate for Riverton, Margaret Thomas, has written to her constituents. She states, in part - I am writing to inform you that the Liberal Party has allocated $20 million to spend on urgently needed maintenance in Western Australia’s State schools and it is important that schools in the Riverton electorate get their share. I want to ensure that things which are falling into disrepair are fixed properly the first time and also help stop problems occurring and ensure schools receive ongoing work to prevent them becoming rundown. I would like to attend your next P & C meeting to meet you and talk to you about what maintenance we can help with and discuss any other problems you have. I have a question for Margaret. Bearing in mind that the identified backlog is $65 million and that the Liberal Opposition is committing itself to spend only $20 million out of the required $65 million, will Margaret put the proposition to people: which two-thirds of the schools in the area will they not do anything for? I have a little suggestion for Margaret. It is a bit like my other general suggestion: tell the truth, Margaret. When she is making these sorts of statements as a candidate she should tell the truth. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Mr A.J. CARPENTER: The truth, which obviously upsets the Liberal Party Opposition, is that the amount of money it is allocating will address only one-third of the problem whereas our amount will resolve it. The amount over four years is less than the additional money that the Government committed in the first three years. Tell the truth, Margaret.
The Liberal Party candidate for Riverton, Margaret Thomas, has written to her constituents. She states, in part - I am writing to inform you that the Liberal Party has allocated $20 million to spend on urgently needed maintenance in Western Australia’s State schools and it is important that schools in the Riverton electorate get their share. I want to ensure that things which are falling into disrepair are fixed properly the first time and also help stop problems occurring and ensure schools receive ongoing work to prevent them becoming rundown. I would like to attend your next P & C meeting to meet you and talk to you about what maintenance we can help with and discuss any other problems you have. I have a question for Margaret. Bearing in mind that the identified backlog is $65 million and that the Liberal Opposition is committing itself to spend only $20 million out of the required $65 million, will Margaret put the proposition to people: which two-thirds of the schools in the area will they not do anything for? I have a little suggestion for Margaret. It is a bit like my other general suggestion: tell the truth, Margaret. When she is making these sorts of statements as a candidate she should tell the truth. Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Mr A.J. CARPENTER: The truth, which obviously upsets the Liberal Party Opposition, is that the amount of money it is allocating will address only one-third of the problem whereas our amount will resolve it. The amount over four years is less than the additional money that the Government committed in the first three years. Tell the truth, Margaret.
I would like to attend your next P & C meeting to meet you and talk to you about what maintenance we can help with and discuss any other problems you have.
Several members interjected. The SPEAKER: Order, members! Mr A.J. CARPENTER: The truth, which obviously upsets the Liberal Party Opposition, is that the amount of money it is allocating will address only one-third of the problem whereas our amount will resolve it. The amount over four years is less than the additional money that the Government committed in the first three years. Tell the truth, Margaret.
The SPEAKER: Order, members! Mr A.J. CARPENTER: The truth, which obviously upsets the Liberal Party Opposition, is that the amount of money it is allocating will address only one-third of the problem whereas our amount will resolve it. The amount over four years is less than the additional money that the Government committed in the first three years. Tell the truth, Margaret.
Mr A.J. CARPENTER: The truth, which obviously upsets the Liberal Party Opposition, is that the amount of money it is allocating will address only one-third of the problem whereas our amount will resolve it. The amount over four years is less than the additional money that the Government committed in the first three years. Tell the truth, Margaret.

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